The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Orion were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Orion by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,724,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,768,000 after acquiring an additional 99,613 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Orion by 4.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,197,000 after purchasing an additional 80,266 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Orion by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,807,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,523,000 after purchasing an additional 77,952 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Orion by 18.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,347,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,556,000 after purchasing an additional 210,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Divisar Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Orion by 7.3% in the second quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 805,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,663,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of Orion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $349,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares in the company, valued at $16,584,604.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Orion news, CEO Corning F. Painter acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $349,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 948,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,584,604.48. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dan F. Smith bought 2,500 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.53 per share, with a total value of $46,325.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 78,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,645.16. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 47,500 shares of company stock valued at $845,225. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Orion Price Performance

Shares of OEC stock opened at $17.08 on Wednesday. Orion S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $15.54 and a fifty-two week high of $28.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $995.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.29.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.14 million. Orion had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 4.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Orion S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.021 dividend. This is a positive change from Orion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Orion from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Orion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Orion Company Profile

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.